To Flatten A Heroine: Artist Puts Disney Princess Filter On 10 Real Life Female Role Models

[UPDATE: Due to the overwhelming public feedback this has received, the artist made what he calls “a small but important amendment to his Anne Frank cartoon.” You can check it out here.]

Compliments of an invaluable introduction by WYSK Melissa Wardy, Women You Should Know had a chance to speak with David Trumble, an award-winning artist, cartoonist and illustrator about his prototype for Disney’s new “World of Women” collection. First unveiled in a May 2013 Huffington Post Parents blog, it features his princessified versions of ten of the world’s most inspiring women from past and present history. We love why he did it.

In addition to generously allowing Women You Should Know to run his original “World of Women” art, David also shared with us his reasons for drawing the thought-provoking cartoon, which he collaborated on, in part, with educational psychologist Lori Day. Here’s what he had to say (before & after images of each woman below).

“This was a response to the furor kicked up over the glossy ‘princessification’ of Pixar’s Merida character, both in image and doll form. I drew this picture because I wanted to analyze how unnecessary it is to collapse a heroine into one specific mold, to give them all the same sparkly fashion, the same tiny figures, and the same homogenized plastic smile.

So that was my intent, to demonstrate how ridiculous it is to paint an entire gender of heroes with one superficial brush. “My experience of female role models both in culture and in life has shown me that there is no mold for what makes someone a role model, and the whole point of Merida was that she was a step in the right direction, providing girls with an alternative kind of princess. Then they took two steps back, and painted her with the same glossy brush as the rest. So I decided to take 10 real-life female role models, from diverse experiences and backgrounds, and filter them through the Disney princess assembly line.

“The result was this cartoon, which earned equal parts praise and ire from readers. Some didn’t get the joke, some disagreed with it, others saw no harm in it at all and wanted to buy the doll versions of them… it was a polarizing image, but I suppose that’s the point. The statement I wanted to make was that it makes no sense to put these real-life women into one limited template, so why then are we doing it to our fictitious heroines?

“Fiction is the lens through which young children first perceive role models, so we have a responsibility to provide them with a diverse and eclectic selection of female archetypes. Now, I’m not even saying that girls shouldn’t have princesses in their lives, the archetype in and of itself is not innately wrong, but there should be more options to choose from. So that was my intent, to demonstrate how ridiculous it is to paint an entire gender of heroes with one superficial brush.

“But that’s just me.” – David Trumble

David’s Disney Princessified “World of Women”

Important Story Update

November 4, 2013: Due to the overwhelming feedback this has received, David made what he calls “a small but important amendment to his Anne Frank cartoon.” You can check it out here.

More About This Man You Should Know

Twenty-seven year old David Trumble is an award winning artist, cartoonist and illustrator, working in a diverse range of storytelling mediums. Critically acclaimed as a political cartoonist for the Sun Newspaper in the United Kingdom with a readership of eight million, Trumble now draws and writes for himself as a blogger on Huffington Post.

You’re right, that’s my real name. I’m willing to bet you’re either dumb as an ox or as big as a barn, it’s gotta be one

Derpidy-Doo

Way to fully miss the point of these cartoons. Yeah-Derp.

bitchareyouretarded

You’re either as big as a house or as dumb as an ox, it’s gotta be one

RethinkThePink

Not grasping the idea, eh?

hardkandie_2004@hotmail.com

Disney already has a “Jane” lol from Tarzan

Kate

Yeah but Jane Goodall is way more badass

Dan

Surprised Mother Theresa didn’t make the cut.

Kate

I think he was trying to go for female role models that contributed in some way to the advancement of women, specifically (with possibly the exception of Anne Frank, though she certainly “contributed” enough otherwise)

mcpierogipazza

He was mocking Disney princesses as a concept, as stated in the article.

lc1715

Mother Teresa was not an admirable individual: she allowed people in pain to continue suffering in order to “glorify Christ.” She meant well but in reality allowed her Catholic delusions to hurt others.

SallyOMalley

YES! Exactly!!

Camiole

Mother Teresa was a good woman. She contributed enormously to many organizations and founded many that help people with HIV/AIDs and other disorders. And even if she didn’t do everything perfectly, that odesn’t make her unworthy. None of the people on this list are perfect.

proy8

No, no she was not. She was a massive hypocrite. She refused BASIC CARE to individuals because she said it helped them come close to Christ. Meanwhile, she went to the best hospitals recieving quality care. She accepted money from dictators. She said people who got AIDS deserved it. Despite recieving millions of dollars in donations, she never used any of it to equip her hospitals with basic equipment as needles were reused repeatedly. She was NOT a good woman. Do your research before you believe everything you hear, you drone.

Getdafuqoutofhere

Well should I do my research on what you said? How can I believe you? And with a name like Proxy8 how do we know you are not a computer? You act as if you wouldnt except millions of dollars that you claim she did. Is it wrong to let people hope for a miracle. Is it wrong to give people what they want… the chance to be closer to their god? BTW a drone is a multi million dollar machine that is very intelligent. Thanks for the compliment homes!

proy8

Yes, you are mentally retarded. If I were a computer, I would not be speaking like this.

You would particularly benefit from research because everything that comes out of your mouth is drivel and garbage. And I would never accept millions of dollars if it was from a dictator. Those people never chose to be close to god, Theresa forced them to even though she was doing the exact opposite.

There are multiple definitions of drone. I was not referring to the missile. I think this would be obvious but then I forgot you’re a cretin.

DroneMachine

Ummm have you seen computers now? Ya a computer could type what you were typing not speak because you weren’t speaking. I also call bullshit on your lie about not accepting money from a dictator! So she forced them to? Are you using multiple definitions for that as well. So are we taking Nazi force or Russian force? And I am not mentally retarded cuz is speaks good otay?

Youstupid@n!ggapleez

You are so right! But then could you tell me what your fat ass did last Saturday? Get off your high horse. Its easy to trash someones reputation when they are dead. Did she force people to do what you claim. Because if she did I would love to pay to see that!!! It takes two to “Glorify Christ” but only one to look like a dumb ass!

proy8

Please stop talking. The only dumbass here is you.

Armyvet@noanus

I hope you know that I no longer have an anus. I lost it in Iraq when a car bomb took it and my legs. Luckily my squad was able to drag me out or else I would have bled out. Sometimes people like you need to stop and think before you say something. I gave my legs to defend this country and the right to free speech but apparently you dont care about that.

proy8

It’s another self-righteous troll. Yay!

Armyvet@noanus

Just because you don’t like what I have to say you start calling me a troll? Wow! Im sorry the truth hurts!

proy8

She never meant well. She was a fraud and hypocrite from the start. She didn’t even believe in what she preached (god).

Ruth

Holocaust Princess? …really? Really?

Even something like Persecuted Princess, Princess-In-Hiding, something like that would be better although Anne Frank as Princess is kind of…well, awkward for the same reason “Holocaust Princess” is.

Derpidy-Doo

They were meant to be awkward and wrong. Yeah-Derp.

Ruth

There’s just a special level of wrong. The rest don’t involve genocide. Although Malala comes pretty damn close in a “too soon” way…

RethinkThePink

No, it’s not. It’s historically accurate.

Derphater

What kind of moron uses “Derp”? You idiot!

Maraeve

It’s what I thought…Holocaust princess? wow…just wow.

OutPastPluto

3 words: “Hitler on Ice”.

The fact that we’re here arguing over her shows that they failed to silence her or strip her of her humanity.

Melfan

What about Jews in Space?

mcpierogipazza

Did you read the article?

Sam

I think the issue with Holocaust Princess is that the others are celebrating what those women have done to promote society, Anne Frank’s is mocking her for being a victim. This is why that crossed the line is offensive

Matt

Probably a bad choice of words, but come on. The artist is not mocking her for being a victim- he is honoring her like all of the other women.

mcpierogipazza

No, he was making a statement about how ridiculous the princess thing is. Did you read the article?

Matt

Yeah. That was why he portrayed them as “assembly line” Disney characters. But the fact of the matter is that he picked “ten of the world’s most inspiring women” from history. So yeah, it’s satire directed at Disney, but it is also a (albeit odd) compliment to the women depicted. And in any event, the artist certainly wasn’t mocking Anne Frank for being a victim, at least in my opinion.

Sue

how is she being mocked?

The Lorax

I think calling Anne Frank “Holocaust Princess” is very inappropriate. I
feel she should instead be the Princess of Remembrance. Anne Frank
should not be the princess of the event that killed her and countless
other innocent people. Today Anne Frank is a symbol of a normal girl
snatched from her normal life and put into a world of death and fear.
There should never be any princess of the Holocaust

Heshy R

He couldn’t very well call her a “Jewish Princess” because of all that epithet implies.

colleen7

He should have called her Princess in Hidding

JulieCAC

Empathy Princess

Richard

“The statement I wanted to make was that it makes no sense to put these real-life women into one limited template, so why then are we doing it to our fictitious heroines?”
Next time read the accompanying article rather than getting lost in the pretty pictures.

Peter

You do realize that these images are supposed to show you what Disney is doing wrong with their “role models” right? It’s not a take on how glamorous these women can be. It’s actually supposed to be a parody/satire. It’s SUPPOSED to be awkward. It’s SUPPOSED to make you stop and think about what Disney is doing. I guess you didn’t read the article.

well well

Are you American? American’s are specialists in denying reality. Nah we didn’t kill all those Indians when we arrived, they got sick and died! Nah we are spying on all the other countries just for security, no other purpose there.Nah there’s no racism here, just send back all those Mexicans back where they came from. (I know, Big generalised stereotyped thinking here, but its what came to my mind, sorry for those who do no think this way, and sorry for the generalised stereotyped thinking). Holocaust happened, and she was ‘hidding’ because of the holocaust.

GTrain

After seeing “Holocaust Princess” I expected Harriet Tubman to be named “Slavery Princess”, and was ready to cringe again. Since they showed that sensitivity I think they should have spent more time on Anne’s.

WhatABadChoice

You couldn’t think of something better than “Holocaust Princess” for Anne Frank? Do I need to explain why this is a bad choice?

RethinkThePink

Wow, this seems to be sailing over heads right and left. News flash: THIS IS HIS POINT.

SheIsFierce

Holocaust Princess? Please rename….

RethinkThePink

Um, no. That’s the whole point.

http://leaveyourdailyhell.com Robert Schrader

This artist is not biased to the political left wing at all, eh?

RethinkThePink

I’d say that’s a fair guess. Not many male feminist righties out there.

gettingintheconvo

Thanks for checking everyone. This is making me realize that reading comprehension is a gift not bestowed upon most people.

areasonableflan

This is the weirdest idea. Art is making a statement, it’s inherently biased one way or another. Why not respond to what they are talking about rather than generally dismiss something because it’s “left wing”?

HS

Is there something “left-wing” about abolition and suffrage? I don’t think that Clinton is much of a role model, but to say the whole gallery is “left-wing” is pushing it.

wdc

Yes, abolition and suffrage were–and still are—left wing.

HS

I’m right-wing and I’m pro suffrage for all, and anti-slavery….those topics are outside politics in the US, they’re neither right nor left.

Kristin

Fighting for civil rights is inherently left-wing.

HS

why?

Kristin

Because the left wing is defined by “progressive” policies, wheres conservative politics are defined as maintaining the status quo – hence, the “conserve” in conservative.

I’m not saying that conservative policies are always wrong-headed, but in terms of equality and broadening the rights of the people… well, I’m usually going with the left on those issues.

& just when you think you just might be able to laugh it off as over-reaction, you get to Anne Frank & realize just how brilliant the whole work actually is. Bravo!

Liz

Too bad he sucks at drawing, too.

JR

I’m a feminist and I have to say, I love this. I looked at the images before reading the article and at first glance I got the joke, then thought maybe it was a terrible attempt to celebrate these women and found a few offensive, but ultimately I think it’s a really powerful way of illustrating the dehumanizing effects of the “Disney filter.”

Duke Silver

Oh great! All the world needs is another feminist! Maybe if you stopped bitching and acted like a man people would take you seriously.

JR

ooh sick burn bro

imajicka1

We do take him seriously. You, on the other hand…

kidlover

Hey I have an idea…SUCK IT!!!

Whateva

What if you start acting like a proper man in the first place and stop bitching around.

Calmyotits

You can’t delete the wind!!!! Feminism is another word for menstrual cycle!!!!

I Take The Time 2Read Princess

hey kids (i.e. the commenters who apparently only have the attention span to look at pictures), why not take 3 minutes to actually read why the artist did this.

Mattel Monitor

The
“Disney Princess Formula” is nothing more than attaching a new head on a
classic “Barbie” body. In manufacturing terms, it takes more money to
design a new mold than to reuse the same old one over and over again.
Ariel is the only Disney Princess I remember who actually had a body based on
the character drawing. The ease of changing the color of the plastic
and popping on a new head directly influenced the rest of the Disney
Princess Line after the Little Mermaid. Jasmine, Belle, Pocahontas, etc. all shared the same
Barbie base. I was actually surprised that Anne Frank wasn’t upgraded
to a more “Belle-like” body. But in this artist’s rendition, she
looks even younger than the classic Barbie’s little sister doll, Skipper, or even Ariel. If you think about it, it is easier to paint one color for the
pouting lip thing than it is to add teeth.

LoopTheLup

The Anne Frank design looks to be based heavily on Alice in Wonderland.

Mattel Monitor

Alice debuted in 1951,well before Barbie in 1959 and Skipper in 1964.

April McGrew

The head of the latest Disney Movie “Frozen” said in an interview that it’s hard to draw a diverse group of women, going through emotions and keep them “pretty”.

Basically, women with emotions are ugly.

HS

“Holocaust princess”?? Not cool.

HS

Before anyone freaks out, I read the article and now realize that it’s satire. I take back what I said

itsalljustaride

Hillary should have been “Pantsuit Princess”.

hildogbarfedonme

hillary shouldn’t have been with these other ladies at all

DelPasso

Or Gloria Steinem.

mr vendetta

Anne frank and Hillary Clinton?! Really?! I dont think their merits could compare to the rest of the “princess” here posted

Joe Napier

I know right! If we up and made everyone who was killed by the nazis and who slept with Bill Clinton we’d have millions of Disney princesses! And that Malala girl? Lets make her a princess because she is a normal human that got lucky and survived a bullet to the head! This list blows!

hilldogbarfedonme

there are so many other essential female figures than having picked hilldog

Ginny

Personally, I think they look really good. And to me, it seems like a good way to get children to see the real heroes in our society. As a little girl, I looked up to Mulan, growing up with the Disney movie. These women are influential for young girls, but they may not notice it right away. Little girls notice stuff like Winx and Monster High. Strong girls who work for what they believe in. So why not real women in a style they’ll recognize? They see the Princess style, but they also learn what they stand for if you do it right. EX- Monster High’s slogan: “Be unique, be yourself, be a monster”. Girls everywhere know that by heart. And it serves as a good message for what the line is about- being yourself and respecting everyone for their differences. Not sparkles and pretty dresses. Believe me, I’ve talked to my eight year-old niece about it. And personally, if these were real dolls, I’d put every one of them in my collection.

Kelly

I love the bright colors, accept the glitter, and tolerate the giant heads/eyes because when drawing you need to exxagerate to portray emotions. I loathe the inhuman figures, and sexualization. These women are hideously anatomically incorrect and all of them are taking sexy poses- even the children are jutting their hips/busts (except Anne.) One or two women portrayed this skinny is fine. When every single Disney Princess has this figure, we have a problem. We’re subtly saying you have to be like this to be important.

Rachel

Given that Malala wants to keep her hair covered, I wonder if its offensive to have her alter ego with a giant braid clearly visible…

St. Ace

I think that’s part of the problem with the Disney Princess filter (kind of similar to the magazine cover filter), it requires the princess to meet certain requirements in terms of body shape, facial features, and hair. A Disney Princess that doesn’t have or is hiding her lustrous and well-behaved hair, is she still a Disney Princess? So far, Disney’s answer has been yes. The controversy with Merida and this project is to say, “why should she be defined by her hair?”

pvjdp

Honestly, did they have to call Anne Frank “Holocaust Princess”? Just say those two words back to back a few times. If Malala Yousafzai can be called “Defiant Princess”, why not call Anne Frank something like “Courageous Princess” or “Literary Icon Princess” or “Immensely Important Preserver of History Princess”

nn90

YES, THANK YOU. It’s in such poor taste, it made me head spin. ‘genocide princess!’ It’s not like malala was called ‘shot in the face princess’.

MissZindzi Marksman

I think some people really just enjoy being offended and scandalized, to the point that they’ll react to this without even reading the article for context.

Dafuq@Youstupid@Missedduhmark

I agree with you completely! I also hate those arrogant fascists who call out others when they don’t read the article! “I think some people really just enjoy being offended and scandalized, to the point that they’ll react to this without even reading the article for context.” Sound familiar?

iamnotakata

Love this!! I really like how he highlighted women of strength in a creative way!

mcpierogipazza

He wasn ‘t. He was putting down the Disney princess concept. Read the article.

iamnotakata

I actually did I guess I should have put “subsequently ended up highlighting pivotal women”…but whatever…

GirrrrlPleez

I just think its ironic because women are strong and yet the artist tries to empower them. He must have a sense of humor.

Danielle

I appreciate how the women selected for this project represent a range of ages, ethnicities, and contributions to the world.

citizeniam

And yet once Disneyfied they are all about the same age. Apparently only a specific age range can be a strong, worthwhile, interesting protagonist.

ashgreen2080

Except Snow White. She was 14. Let’s all take a moment to try and not vomit at that thought.

no

So sparkly!

Dee Wright

Or, and here’s a crazy idea … the fact they’re drawn “Disney style” doesn’t eliminate what these women did? Just like adding sparkles to Merida’s dress doesn’t eliminate what she did in the movie. I guess I don’t think that judging by appearances or ration of sparkle to not sparkle is the best way to go.

Also, it’s really not that hard to figure out that Merida got sparklefied because they were drawing her in the same style as the rest of the lineup for marketing. It wasn’t because they wanted to “ruin” the character or any such dramatics.

Thank god, there are a few women actually THINKING instead of kneejerking. The only thing offensive with the Merida thing was the woman who commented “Don’t tell my daughter she can only be eye candy.” Because of course we all want our daughters to think combing their hair and having a trim waist means they aspire to nothing more.

Kelly

I took offense to the redesign of Merdia because the whole point of the movie was that she didn’t want to be what the Disney glamor model portrayed her as: a pretty, composed, sexual princess. She didn’t want to marry yet and she loved having her hair wild and crazy. This was a big character trait in the movie and taking it away is like taking away Belle’s love of reading. As for your trim waist comment: they made her waist inhumanly skinny, while upping her chest size. I understand the need to exaggerate human figures when drawing, particularly with the giant eyes and simplified noses, but there was no reason to make her bustier.
I think you misunderstand why people take offense to these things. As much as I love Disney, I dislike how all of their female protagonists are skinny, gorgeous women/girls. Why can’t there be an unattractive protagonist? Why must we associate this narrowly defined standard of beauty with success?
As for the drawings above: I think it’s wonderful to put these women in bright color- the green on Marie Curie’s dress is wonderful, and really caught my attention. The glitter I could pass on, but I understand how, with all the competition for attention, it’s a useful advertising tactic. I am offend by the inhuman figures, and how sexual their clothes and poses are. Marie Curie would never have exposed that much cleavage, nor should she need to to get children’s attention.

mcpierogipazza

Just because I disagree with you I’m not thinking?

BeTrue

I LOVE the “Holocaust Princess.” What better image of a survivor with gumption and voice and longevity than Anne Frank?

Laura Wegkamp Cook

Actually, I have a completely different take on this. The fact is, if something is visually appealing kids are at least 10 times more likely to be interested in it. My 4 year old daughter walked by while I was reading this and she was instantly intrigued. That gave the opportunity to talk to her about who these women are. If they looked non-princessafied she wouldn’t have cared. This is the way art works. It has a powerful effect on the senses and strongly influences our opinions. If each of these “princesses got their own little illustrated storybook or movies, suddenly, our little daughters would be interested in finding out who they are.

Cora M

I can’t believe two respondents here have functioning minds. Bless you, madame. The only thing offensive with the Merida thing was the
woman who commented “Don’t tell my daughter she can only be eye candy.”
Because of course we all want our daughters to think combing their hair
and having a trim waist means they aspire to nothing more.

Dana

Of course we don’t want that, that’s why the mother said not to tell her daughter that. You’re on the same side she is, you just have to argue the point for some reason.

We’re a very visually-oriented species, to the point that we use differences in faces rather than pheromone scents to recognize different individuals of our species. What we see matters very much to us–much more so than someone’s spoken words. Keep that in mind next time you want to snark at someone for critiquing imagery.

Which, actually, *these* works critique imagery. Just sayin’.

Dana

The reason your daughter cared about the “princessafied” women isn’t because art has a powerful effect on the senses, but because you have exposed her so much to the Disney princesses that that’s all she cares about now.

This is your fault, not art’s fault. Might I suggest expanding your daughter’s horizons, not just waiting for the schools to do it? Because you’ll be waiting a LONG time in that case.

Rebecca

Although it’s clearly a problem that society puts so much pressure on girls to conform to a certain standard of beauty, I also don’t think we should be casting it as an either/or situation–can’t young girls want to be both pretty and smart?

Fergus

I would say guys have the same problem, no feelings, you got to play sports. I ask the same of society for all people is it bad for them to be unique, creative, and smart? It should never be about boy vs girl it should be about our collective humanity. The responsibility is ultimately on the parents. Stand up and be responsible for the future of your own children because they are our future.

Guest

amen @bce83d7f85c101156151ec7281839e7b:disqus !!

mcpierogipazza

Boys don’t spend their childhood wanting to grow up to be good looking. They usually don’t think much about their looks until they hit puberty.

ashgreen2080

Except there will always be that massive population of women who are not pretty by Western cultural standards. Why not ACTUALLY teach children that it’s your character that counts, and not your good looks?

Rebecca

No, I completely agree with you that the Western standard of beauty is totally effed up, and definitely needs to be revolutionized. But realistically, in the short term, I think you do run the risk of alienating many young girls if they think they’re forced to choose between being smart and trying to be “pretty.”

Rebecca

At the same time, though, I agree 100% that children should be taught, first and foremost, that it’s who you are as a person that counts, and not what you look like.

blueflavored

Sure–my mom taught me how to apply mascara AND read me quality children’s lit every night. I actually wish she’d put a little more emphasis on appearance, because I remember feeling ugly and gawky up through most of high school.

Nina

I think you went a bit too far with this one, Dana. You’re not in this womans home or life to assume that she has overexposed her daughter to any one particular thing. You’ve no idea whether she provides her daughter with a variety of learning options and the kid just picks the shiny sparkly things as what interests her. Assuming that just turns you into a hostile person. By the way, the fact that this woman is even willing to discuss these women with her daughter without just saying “Oh my aren’t they pretty?” means she’s putting forth an effort. You haven’t got the right to criticize her parenting. You’re not her mom, you’re not her husband, and you’re not one of the childs teachers, and even then, you’d still have absolutely no right to do so unless the child is in some way in danger.

Thanks for making the internet a slightly more hostile place, and for adding to that barrier that women already put between themselves when they should be more supportive and helpful to each other. You did a great job on that one.

Joe Napier

Well who gives you the right to question Dana’s right to an opinion? Why don’t you get off your high horse and mind your own damn business. Its people like you who make the internet a hostile place because you butt your dumb ass into other people’s conversations! Women need to learn when to be quiet and not impede on someone’s freedom of speech! So what she calls someone a bad parent, big whoop want to fight about it? You weren’t hurt none but still you have t say something. People like you really grind my gears.

Freida Munroe

Joe leave her alone!!!! She just wants there to be peace on Earth and for everyone to get along is that so bad? Its people like you Joe that make the internet a bad place!!!!! Nina was just trying to help out Laura by cutting down Dana and maybe feel a little better about herself. Get out of the dark ages jack hole!!! Way to go Nina!!! And you to Dana and Laura!! Yay woman power!!!!!

adsfsdgafssdf

You comment is funny because you’re telling someone who just expressed their opinion about someone else’s opinion on another person’s opinion that they don’t have a right to an opinion in the form of an opinion.

Joe Napier

Thank you finally someone that understands that its not ok to blast someone’s opinion! People need to be more understanding and learn to keep their mouths shut!

Carly Stevens

Way to go Joe! I agree with you 100%

Joe Napier

No as funny as your face!!!

SimoneNonvelodico

Technically, you don’t know his/her face. ’cause internet and all that jazz. But I guess laughing at the visage of an otherwise unidentified entity known as adsfsdgafssdf has a sort of surrealist appeal to it as an idea.

InYOFace

You are right, your face is way uglier!!!!! OHHHHH Burn Ho!!!!!!

SimoneNonvelodico

Dear Sir, I am sorry to inform you that I am not undergoing spontaneous combustion as you seem to suggest. It is possible that your, undoubtedly deadly, pyrokinetic paranormal powers haven’t been focused properly on my person. You might want to try again.

InYoFace

Ya sorry. I can’t focus on fat ugly people so I suppose you are safe. Just as long as you stay away from the BigMac!!!!! Burnnnnnnn!!!!!! Damn!!!!!

Kingofthetrolls

Your face is funny!!!! What did you have a seizure while typing your name? Hahahahaha

N/A

Found Dana’s sockpuppet profile!

I am Dana

This is not Dana! Sorry that I stick up for a strong independent person. I’m not Dana

Sarah Dovahkiin Roswell

Yeah! Don’t blame them for defending Dana who is strong, independent, beautiful, funny, witty, needs no man and who proved her mother wrong! They just see how wonderful Dana is and totally agree with her being a douche. /sarcasm
-Signed also not Dana, but actually not her

I’mnotDana(OK maybe)

FYI when you are being sarcastic either people get it or they don’t. You don’t have to tell us when you are being sarcastic, it just defeats the purpose. Another thing funny and witty are practically the same thing. You also don’t have to sign not Dana, we can see that by your name which has that weird ass name in the middle. Skyrim is it? Now just so you all know this isn’t Dana. Simply look at her post and mine and any literate person can see the clear difference. No this is in fact N/A.

LOLcakes

There is no Dana, only Zul!

dc

Yours is the only post worth reading.
These people are batcrap.

Fair Witness

“Women need to learn when to be quiet and not impede on someone’s freedom of speech!” Joe, you are a hypocrite! YOU just did what you are scolding
someone else for! As far as Dana’s comment, there is a difference between
giving general constructive criticism by means of not singling someone out and
giving a personal attack on someone who did not have any ill intention with
their original post. Dana, and you, ARE the ones who cause people to get upset.
Yes, I am now attacking you, but in response to something you started. I do not
like internet bullies, which is what you are!

@broughtyoutomylevel

Awwwwww so you agree that you are a bully? In fact you are worse because you are bullying the bully. Don’t worry Ill save a spot in hell for you!!!! Hahahahah

Matt

Is that not exactly what you are doing Joe? Besides just generally being an asshat?

Matt=Asshat

No I don’t swing that way but it is okay if you do. Just please use protection. I bet asshat was your nickname in high school!!! hahahahaha

imajicka1

Pot = Kettle. Yes Joe, you’re the pot.

Youdumb

And you the dumb ass!!!! Hahahaha

Susan

“Women need to learn when to be quiet and not impede on someone’s freedom of speech!”

So essentially what I’m seeing here is “Women can’t have an opinion unless it is one with which I agree.”

Also, by saying that ‘women need to learn when to be quiet’ aren’t you impeding THEIR freedom of speech?

@Joe; I think what “grinds your gears” is that women are legally entitled to some measure of equality. Tea Party much?

Joe Napier

No i’m more of a coffee man myself. But thanks for the invite.

Suggestion

Just ignore the trolls. They feed on responses =).

Kingofthetrolls

Hey who am I? “Just ignore the trolls. They feed on responses ” wawawawa!!!! Get a life!!

L

thank you for the eloquent unhostile response…I wou;ld have just said Shut Up….Ariel more power to ya

imajicka1

Wow! 827 likes!? Nina is the winner!!! Really, your post says all and say it very well.

Sue

it is great that you are so enlightened as to know what the ladies daughter cares about and doesn’t.

Yonamedumb

The question you should ask is what makes you so enlightened to throw stones at Dana???? What if Dana has a power you dont know about huh? I bet you feel like an idiot now!!!

xero42

no it’s because young kids are drawn to bright colors and smiling faces anyone who has taken Psychology 101 knows that

Youvirgin4life

Anyone who has taken psychology 101 knows that!!!! Wawawawawaw shut up nerd!!!

Megan Legassie

I would rather be a nerd, then be an imbecile.

Sarah Lynn

So, a nerd first and an imbecile later?

Sarah Ford

Exactly! Everyone else is arguing and I’m over here thinking the same thing. The cartoons are bright, sparkly, they are smiling, they have big eyes (which just about everyone likes, adults included). Kids also seem to like cartoons in general. Compare that to a black and white picture of a strong, frowning face and it’s not hard to see which a little child would pick if given the choice. People, man -.-

Just a voice

I agree, Sarah! I saw the sparkly, Disney like image and read the title of the article, and the combination of the two is what prompted me to click on, and read, the entire article! I see where the artist is coming from, and sadly I do kind of see where Disney is coming from, too. There should be a compromise. I understand that you need to make the sale, but understand that kids do idolize these fictional characters, and when they see that “all these women look practically the same” and then they get older and see the same similarities in the women modeling in magazines and ads, well they do see a theme. I know I did. In order to be noticed, really noticed, you should look a certain way. It’s taken years to really convince myself that when people notice me, yea looks have something to do with it, but the compliments I get are based on who I am, not how I look. I think that’s what the artist may have been trying to say, or one of the messages. And I think Laura has a point. We don’t need to completely change the image, but if we do sell these important women in a way that catches a young child’s attention, they will become eager to learn, even if they don’t realize it at the time

Alison Piearcey

Everyone who has taken Psych 101 knows that about the only thing you can say about all kids is they start smaller than adults. Some, maybe even many kids are drawn to bright colors. Some whose whole world is plastic and bright, might be drawn to a more genuine ‘smile’ which is more subdued. I can’t be the only person to whom this princess look is repellant.

DaisyoftheValley

Your comment is incredibly presumptuous, hurtful, not at all helpful, and just plain wrong.
We don’t allow *any* Disney Princess paraphernalia in our home. No Disney channel. No cartoons. None of the books. My daughter has seen exactly one movie – Sleeping Beauty – and didn’t sit through all of it. We talk/read/view stories about strong women. Our home is full of appropriate books.
But the Disneyfication of everything is so prevalent in society – my daughter would give anything to have the dolls, movies, books, costumes, etc.
So, yeah. Way to blame another woman for all of society’s ills. Got any interesting shaming theories about autism? That used to be blamed almost exclusively on mothers, too.

SimoneNonvelodico

It’s not even just the Disneyfication. There is a reason why Disney chose to go down that line of design. It’s not attractive because it’s Disney, Disney built it up during the years because it’s attractive. It’s like junk food, it titillates our simplest visual pleasure centres like McDonalds does with our taste buds. It doesn’t even need to be actually good.

Said this, the art in some of the Disney movies, especially the early ones, deserves a lot of credit. But then again, if I had to pick a really memorable design from Sleeping Beauty, it would surely be Maleficent rather than the forgettable eponymous princess.

b&b

What’s wrong with being beautiful sparkly and strong. What’s wrong with fantasy,daydream,and fairy tales? There is beauty and strength in all women. There is enough ugly in the world,and little girls or boys should be able to see the pretty colors and hear the pretty songs. Why do we as women have to choose,being strong and smart or pretty,nothing wrong with a little of both. And I know that wasn’t the intent of the artist,but it is a great way to get little kids to learn about some of the most amazing women in history!

Cyntax

I am female, my parents tried to get me to like girly things, and I’ve ALWAYS hated disney movies and sappy movies in general. They made no sense to me (girl depending on a prince, everything based on romance, etc… I wanted to see badass women preferred villains)… I was always drawn to horror stories and would sneak down to the family room when I was little and parent’s were asleep to watch Tales from the Crypt. When I turned 10 one of my friends got me Stephan King’s Misery (what I asked for) and hid it under couch cushions and snuck down to read it also… parents did not approve, had to fish it out of the garbage. I would have been thrilled to get a chemistry set or something like that versus dolls (which I basically destroyed). All I’m saying is that regardless of gender people and kids are different. Personally, I hated pink and was always drawn to darker things. Age doesn’t matter, everyone has their own personality, and gender should not matter. I find some presuppositions folks are making silly at best.

Lilith

Geez, I feel sorry for your kid. Do you allow her to laugh at all?

I’ve SEEN the results of parenting like yours. Kids like that grow up to be the most pompous, arrogant berks I’ve ever had the misfortune to deal with. They think they know it all, they pass supreme judgment on anyone different from them, they find it very difficult to make friends because they’re so snotty, etc. My ex boyfriend’s nephew was exactly like that. By the time the kid was fifteen, he was absolutely insufferable. Thought he knew it all. And told the world as much too.

imajicka1

You basically turned a molehill into a mountain. Congratulations!

Seriously though, unless you work for the NSA, how do you know how many Disney Princesses Laura actually exposed her daughter to? It’s hard to sympathize with you when you come across as very judgmental.

Guest

You make a good point BUT do you know how much Ms. Cook shows her daughter other things besides princesses? No, so such harsh judgment should be kept in check. Kids like different things for a host of reasons.

Jason

Someone didn’t get enough hugs as a child….so eager to attack.

http://kibblesbits.wordpress.com/ Ann

Out of line.

Melissa

your response is your opinion and I can respect what you are entitled too! however, I think its a bit ridiculous to make it sound like she is just this horrible mother who subjects her daughter to “princesses”. I dont think she was blaming art for anything rather just expresses how we engage our children into things, every kids learns differently than others and if there is a way to bring what they like and who they are into teaching them valuable information, what is wrong with that? I think you must have misunderstood Laura Cook’s response way too much!

Blaming the mother is the most ridiculous thing I have ever read. Are you going to shelter your child so much that they cant even enter stores, see advertisements, children books sections etc? Where she goes to school and other girls birthday parties who all have princess things? This is in no way the moms fault. This is societies fault and I don’t think there is any way to shelter any little girl from this currently, they’re going to like what they want to like. My mother is a woman who wears no makeup, cares nothing for clothing, her hair etc. She is smart and ambitious and loving. Yet I grew up wanting blonde hair, dresses, dolls… all to her dismay. This has nothing to do with the mother. I would love to see you attempt to raise a child that would be “above” these princess qualities. You’re kid isn’t going to be smart enough to figure it out until she is in her teens and god forbid, you tell her to stay away from certain things, she is going to want to be a part of it more.

Guest

I worked as a nanny for a mother who abhorred all things Disney. Neither that nor Barbie was allowed in the home. The kids weren’t allowed to watch TV and only saw about one or two carefully chosen movies a year. And where did the girls’ fascination with princesses come from? Their Catholic private school classmates, of course. Some of the desire I believe is in inherent in little girls, and some is learned. Don’t suppose you know WHERE or from WHOM they were taught.

Martin Rayvheim

Nonsense.

Christopher Collins

Agree 100% with Dana on this one. It has nothing at all to do with art appreciation – it’s the social conditioning to only respond to big, blue-eyed, glowing Disney faces (and figures) imposed by the media, and parents, on impressionable children that is to blame. The likenesses of these women of achievement are already captured in portraiture, sculpture literature, theater – and other works of art – so why aren’t young people discovering them this way?
These new princesses is a great satire – unfortunately, as I read these comments, very few people are perceiving it as such.

Laura Wegkamp Cook

Hi Dana! You’ve made some pretty strong assumptions there. ACTUALLY, if I had my choice in what my daughter liked, she’d be playing with pirates, superheroes, and possibly zombies. Cause that’s what I like. But alas, if I bought them for her, she wouldn’t touch them. However, I am proud to say that I am SLOWLY rubbing off on her. I HATED the princess franchise before my daughter came of age. You should see what I did to her coloring book. http://laurasreallyrandomramblings.blogspot.com/2012/04/i-cant-help-it-i-defile-my-childs.html I now have a more softened opinion of it. My second daughter is a year and a half and a lot more interested in “boyish” type things than my first daughter, even though she’s being exposed to a lot more “girly” things than my first daughter ever was at her age. In reality, I kept princess stuff away from my first daughter as long as a could, until I could no longer deny that that’s what she really responded to. I am a professional artist and I understand, very well, the power of art and aesthetics. Artists should be very conscientious about using it for good. If stylizing these good women gets little girls interested in them, then I say go for it. I strongly disagree with the sexualization of women, however, in any context.

Cassie

Your comment is lovely and, while I do not have children, I have worked with many children and see 100% what you are saying. I have always loved Disney since I was a child and do not see the princesses as role models. The movies are entertainment and art and that’s what I love about them. When I have children I will teach them the same concept.

Rebecca Foster

I agree. The only amendment I would really make is in the nature of their costuming. Chances are good that Jane Goodall would be wearing more than safari-style booty shorts, or that the women represented would have been flashing so much cleavage. It is a faithful representation of what Disney illustrators might have done (I’m not criticizing the artist, but the art that he is imitating– great job, David!), but I would hope that– if they were to ever do the stories of the ladies shown here– they would show more sensitivity than their track record suggests. That being said, I would also hope their sensitivity would not end with just getting their clothes right, but also getting their stories right.

lupislune

Ridiculous and mildly offensive.

trackbackone

Liberal asshole.

Jennifer Preston

He works for The Sun – when is that ever alright?

convergenz

no latinas? no chinese? interesting mix, but perhaps you want to mix it up a bit culturally. (thanks for including marie curie.)

mcpierogipazza

What concept did you get from the article?

Cora M

The only thing superficial is your idea that a Disney style of representation takes anything away from them. It’s a very cheap stunt and only the reflexively irate can’t recognize that.

I think the issue with Holocaust Princess is that the others are celebrating what those women have done to promote society, Anne Frank’s is mocking her for being a victim. This is why that crossed the line

nn90

yes.

danyyfranco

holocaust princess!??!?!? dafuq

Fraybird

Somebody better change Hillary to the incarceration princess, because once WE THE PEOPLE reclaim Lady Liberty, that pantsuit is going to be traded in for an Orange Burlap Jumpsuit.

Crocky

Ruth Bader Ginsberg is chosen, but not Sandra Day O’Connor, the FIRST woman to sit on the Supreme Court? Naah…no political partisanship here….

Carly Stevens

That is true but I believe O’Connor liked beaver… if you know what I mean. That’s not princess material.

mcpierogipazza

Nah, no one missing the whole point of the article here.

Ann Pearson Sevaaetasi

You are brillant !

Chad Busch

holocaust princess sounds like an all girl black metal band

Abby

Am I the only one disturbed with the fact that all these women were given disney waists? They’re not all disney beautiful. They’re not all disney size 2. They’re real world brilliant and that’s why I look up to them, not because they’re skinny and gorgeous.

Carly Stevens

I think what the artist is trying to convey is that skinny does equal gorgeous and vice versa. Why would we want to look at anything else? Is princess is suppose to be perfect not flabby. I think these types of images make young girls strive for excellence and they should.

mcpierogipazza

The artist is mocking the entire princess concept, right down to making the women all the same size. Read the bloody article.

Bloodyidiot

I cant read jerk Im dyslexic. I can only read dumb ass comments like yours! I really hope you are British because that is the only except able reason to use the word bloody when not taking about a woman’s period or a movie!

Richard

Neat idea. I like the concepts. But really, “Holocaust Princess”? All of the other titles are about some positive ideal that the person embodies… The Holocaust was a horrific event that happened TO Anne Frank. She maintained her humanity in spite of all the inhumanity around her. How about a more positive moniker?

mcpierogipazza

You didn’t read the article, huh?

Darklord

I can think of some other woman that are more deserving then Malala.

Screwball

Yes I agree with you on that. They only put her there because she is trending

Shauna Malwae Tweep

Well said. Although she is an inspiration she hasn’t achieved as much as dozens of other woman. Why no Benazir Bhutto?

Tommy Haverford

Darklord you hit the nail on the head… or should I say the bullet in the head.

Kara Thrace

Why no Tina Fey? That would be a great Disney Princess!!!

Gaius Baltar

I DON’T KNOW WHAT WE’RE YELLING ABOUT!!!!!!!!!!

Carly Stevens

I think this is so cute. All little girls should aspire to becoming princesses! My daughter Carole Ann wanted to be a princess this Halloween and of course I couldn’t say no. Disney does a great job of showing little girls that they to could be a perfect princess. I mean why strive for anything else? To all those moms out there that treat their little girls like a princess God bless you.

Samuel Spagnola

Ginsburg, but no O’Connor. Must be a partisan thing.

xero42

i hate that my mind went there but Isn’t Holocaust Princess the name of an Anime?

YouVirgin4life

Uhhhhh isn’t that the name of an anime? Nerd!

Kirsten Adams

Things shouldn’t have to be “princess-ized” to have kids gain an interest in them. If you raise your kids correctly, they should to learn about these women because of the great things they did, not because they look like princesses.

Carly Stevens

Yes but all great women should be a princess. Why strive for anything else? A Disney princess is what every girl should try to be. Beautiful, flawless, and clever. All parents should hope that their daughters want to be a princess.

proy8

Are you serious? Not everyone needs a Prince Charming to save them. Considering being flawless and beautiful to be the end all, be all is really superficial. There are more sides to a girl then how blemish free she looks.

Carly Stevens

Well why shouldn’t young girls want to be blemish free? Being beautiful and smart can open a lot of doors for girls. I agree with you on there being more than one side to a girl. There is also the back to consider. Young girls should try to be a princess with great looks, a clever mind, and a nice bottom! I for one want my daughter to succeed in life and with the mentality to strive for perfection she can do it! I also agree with you that being flawless and beautiful is not the end all be all. In order to be both you need to have super facials like you said.

proy8

Are you mentally retarded? Not all girls will be objectively pretty and tell them to aspire to be so is really shitty of you to do so. You would never tell a boy that he should be handsome, why would you tell a girl that she should be pretty?

It disturbs me that you think little girls should have a “nice bottom.” They’re little girls, you perv.

Carly Stevens

How dare you sir or mam! I am a soccer mom and love my children! I’m sorry I want the best for them! I’m sorry that they are thin and beautiful! Arrest me for loving my daughters! I won several pageants in my town and went on to marry my husband of ten years and have had two beautiful daughters! By the way, boys should be handsome and girls should be pretty little angels! I wish that when my girls grow up that they have everything they need to succeed and that includes a full package that will help them find the man of their dreams like I have.

St. Ace

wow. I mean, if this is snark, it’s brilliant. If you’re serious, then I worry you’re going to give your daughters serious self-esteem problems. You’re coming close to “If my daughter isn’t as perfect as I want her to be, there’s something wrong with her” territory.

Kirsten Adams

I really hope you are being sarcastic… a disney princess should never be a goal or dream for a young girl! EVER. Flawless? Please, nobody is perfect, nor should they be! Parents should be terrified if their daughter wants to be a princess.

Carly Stevens

Why should I be afraid if my daughter wants to be a princess? I never said anyone is perfect and if you have ever seen a Disney movie the princess is never perfect. I just want my daughter to be happy and have everything that she need like a princess would. Sorry that I don’t want her to look like a cow that eats McDonald’s everyday and shops at Kohl’s or Jcpenny’s.

Kirsten Adams

Oh geez. wow. If a kid wants to be a princess, they are delusional. A child should strive to be the best they can be. Beautiful, inside and out, but they should know they have to work hard for everything they get. A princess is the anthesis of ALL progress women have made over the years.

Carly Stevens

Well first off an “Anthesis” is the period in which a flower matures. What you meant to say is “Antithesis”. My daughter is 4! No you are right let me tell her that she should grow up to be a dental hygienist and that Santa isn’t real. What progress? Women still complain about being oppressed but it is that mentality that holds us back. My god man up! I’m not going to be apologizing for not wanting to have my children live a mediocre life.

Kirsten Adams

Eesh, well my highness, forgive my typo. And four is the perfect age to teach your daughter to be herself, not a fairytale character.

Nathan Topousis

First of all, a great woman should never strive to be a princess. If they want to be royalty, they should strive to be a queen. A princess means that they will never really be in control of anything. Most princesses were trained to be, basically, sold to another kingdom as a sort of peace treaty or as a way to gain favor in another kingdom. No one should ever strive for something like that.
Also, a woman should never be told that being beautiful or “flawless” is what gives them purpose, and should not aim to be. Because no matter how beautiful or ugly you are, your looks do not, and will never, affect who you are as a person. All women should strive to be intelligent, kind, and just a decent human being.

Damnnnn

No women need to be beautiful and flawless. If not they are just cooks right?

winomo

What? Do you even know who these women are? Malala was shot in the head by the Taliban just because she was brave enough to stand up for education for girls. She IS the current role model for young women right now. No one is saying that girls or women can’t still be feminine or ‘sparkly’ if and when they choose, but that is hardly a goal to set forth for anyone. These women’s accomplishments are what matters.

Carly Stevens

Role model for what how to get shot in the head? Oh ya lets teach our children that!!! Anyone can get shot in the head. Its those who don’t that should be rewarded!

badfae

Yes…that’s the point of this project. Did you bother to read the article?

proy8

Why are all these princesses sexualized? I can’t be the only who noticed Jane Goodall’s ample cleavage. Can’t one be a princess without sparkles or having to show breasts?

I really can’t believe that people are appluading this especially when it really much better (actually, it’s worse because it pretends to be inclusive and whatnot but just forces these women to go through the same bullshit beauty standards to be considered a princess).

Sigh

Guess you didn’t read the article, then.

badfae

But reading is so hard when there are pictures to look at!

Dirtygirl

Because your mom was sexualized!!!

Carrie

I have a hard time believing these are the work of an “award winning” artist. I’m curious to see what awards he has won.

Hilary Clinton? Really? Has she really made huge strides for gender equality or progress like these other women?

Jonathan Evan Stern

Take a look at some of the other women on the list. Jane Goodall studied gorillas. Rosa Parks was too tired to get off her ass. Marie Curie made strives in science, but nothing political… and ended up inadvertently killing herself. Anne Frank… well, died. Also, Hillary Clinton may be poised to be the first female president.

snapes_angel

Being a mother myself, I think there is room for a Disneyfied version, so long as representations of the actual are also available. A lot of children, both male and female, like pretty things, even if the boys have to disguise this because they’re always told they would be teased, ostracised, or worse for it. The Disneyfied images increase the likelihood that the children will like them and, when they realize that these images represent real people, will actually be moved to go and read up on them..

I also, actually, would not mind a Jane Goodall Saturday morning cartoon. We’ve had Tarzan, now let’s see how a real person would deal with life and research in the jungle.

gary

This artist is a cultural marxist douchebag

Jason Pritchett

This guy’s artwork is pretty amazing, even if the “disneyfication” is satire. The pictures are cool, and I love all the historical/influential women.”
Except Hillary. It makes me want to vomit. To include her name in a volume of 10,000 of such women might make the cut, but a “10 of the most”, is a joke.
The most influential thing she’s done is ignore requests for more security in Benghazi, allow good Americans under her “protection” to die. Then lie about the cause of their deaths. Finally, she broke down and admitted she didn’t know “What difference, at this point, does it make?” whether it was a spontaneous protest or a planned attack that got Americans killed. It matters to anyone with a shred of decency or honor.
To top it all off, his art of her is named “Princess 2016″? As if he knows her life so far is not deserving, but surely she will make a great President.
Vomit.

Wow…I can’t get over the hostility, rudeness, disrespect and name-calling going on in the comments. Seriously??

Speakyomind

I couldn’t agree more loser!

Samantha

I get how they are supposed to be “wrong”, but to me they are only ‘bad’ because of wording (“Holocaust Princess”). But I would love to see a Disney movie on the lives of influential women. And yes, I will admit, I like the girly glitter and ballgowns–what’s wrong with that? I *also* like learning about people’s lives. Of course I know that it’s wrong to ignore the dark/sad side of things (which Disney films do), but if it sparks an *interest* in the first place, I don’t see why it has to be a bad thing. Sure, it would not be as good as reading a book and the true history about these women, but an easy-to-watch movie could easily influence people to pick up that book out of new interest. Again, I totally get why people would be upset about sugarcoating some of the sad events that happened, and it’s important to know about, but can’t we also celebrate the great things too? I know that I wouldn’t want to be known for being “that girl who died during the Holocaust”, but rather “that strong girl with a bold personality whose diary became an important piece of literature that almost anyone who went to school has read”. It’s not the same thing because it’s quite darker and does include death and such, but it’s like Les Mis: a great movie/musical/book that focuses on characters rather than historical facts yet still teaches important lessons about loving one another etc. Yes, it’s too bad that some people only care about how attractive something is, but I don’t think attractiveness is necessarily evil or anything. I hate to keep acting like my opinion is a super important citation (it’s not), but again, I do care about history but I *also* am a girly girl who appreciates pretty things. I don’t want to try and belittle the absence of non-traditionally attractive women in marketing/media (because there is) but it does go both ways. To me, it’s also unfair when people act like thin, pretty women aren’t “real”. We naturally like attractive things, you can blame society to an extent, but animals like peacocks always go for the best looking specimen too. The Disney princesses are pretty, that’s true, but just because they have big eyes and gorgeous dresses doesn’t take away from the fact that they are kindhearted and follow their dreams, just like drawing these women in a cute cartoon style doesn’t negate their accomplishments and importance. I’m just a sixteen year old girl, so maybe I don’t know any better, but that’s my two cents, some people will probably think this is too long to read, but I felt like jabbering.

Really?
Hillary Clinton was put into this pantheon of women that were actually great?
She was a lawyer turned politician; she wasn’t even the first female politician in any of her offices.

This list has:
Civil Rights champion
Ground breaking scientist
Courageous explorer and naturalist
and a former first lady…?
Women that better deserve Clinton’s spot:
Julia Child—ex-spy turned world famous chef/tv star and a self-made millionaire
Emmeline Pankhurst—spear-headed Women’s Suffrage
Florence Nightingale—Founder of the modern Nursing profession
Joan of Arc—Lead the French army to multiple victories, AS A TEENAGER.

If you want greatness, seek greatness. If you want big names with hollow lives, don’t mix them up with those that led lives of sacrifice to achieve real accomplishments that bettered their countries, and even the world.

janiepants

Love this.

Charlotte

love the idea, but doesn’t it just negate the message of who the real princesses are when they all look much skinnier than they were? if princesses don’t have to be fairytale-like, why do they still have to be skinny?

Kix

We need to try this. Make these women (an good male role models too) into non-princessized cartoons! And by we, I mean someone with artistic talent, not me. I understand the point of the article and art, but I just think it would be brilliant to have true role models turned cartoon history

Mn-90332

I find this extremely distasteful

Goerge Mustaki

I can’t put my finger on it but this looks just awful.

yep

Hilary Clinton is not a very good role model

terranor

I really like almost all of these, except the portrayal of Jane Goodall. My jaw dropped when I saw that she was posed like some saucy pinup girl with cleavage and short shorts. A woman who was constantly fighting against sexism in her profession should not be summed up in such a juvenile way.

I’ve read the article and understand the artist’s intention, and I think he was successful with most of them, but it seems so counter-productive to introduce an important woman (goodall) so sexualized that she just becomes another cleavage-happy character. It’s just so sad to me that such a well-intentioned gesture still painfully misses the mark.

rachelnyc

It IS counterproductive to paint any of these women this way. That’s the whole point of this project. To take this diverse group of women who have accomplished so many amazing things, and illustrate how much is lost when you run them all through the same Disney filter.

“The statement I wanted to make was that it makes no sense to put these real-life women into one limited template, so why then are we doing it to our fictitious heroines? . . . that was my intent, to demonstrate how ridiculous it is to paint an entire gender of heroes with one superficial brush.”

Your response to the Jane Goodall drawing is exactly the reaction the artist hoped to evoke … it’s just that a number of people seem to be missing the point that he’s in on it.

Sara

Why do all their dresses have to be SO feminine?

badfae

Read the article, and maybe you’ll get the point. Maybe.

Me

The art work was pretty cool. All those women were inspirational….save the Clinton one but, to each their own.

grammieof9

Give it a rest guys and gals..as a woman..this is incredibly cleaver. Little girls will see these new princesses (since they are already sensitized to this format) and learn how to be strong!

Snow white and the Seven Dwarves was the first full-length animation movie of Disney. What ideas were presented there? Woman must stay at home and take care of man; woman was wait for man to save her. More recent Disney movies have improved, but the objectification of women is just as prevalent. David Trumble is going a great job to evoke thought here. Well done!

MsMoomMist

Oh this is so cute. Now that being said. There were only 2 I could identify. One was Hillary Clinton who is not actually a role model for anyone and Harriet Tubman who actually believed in Freedom. As for Anne Frank, an armor vest would have been more appropriate because of what her family endured during a very dark period in humankind’s history and still seem to be enduring today.

Wish he’d done Princess Alice Paul instead of Susan B. Anthony. What Anthony did was brave, but it was over 50 years after that when women got the right to vote. It was 72 years from that first conference at Seneca falls to ratification of suffrage. Alice Paul, the suffragette nobody seems to remember, was wrongly imprisoned, force-fed, and beaten because she continued to fight for women’s rights during a war time. Some believe that Wilson backed the amendment purely to avoid an international PR crisis over Paul’s treatment. So let’s remember Anthony, but let’s not give her all the credit. She started it. Paul finished it. Forgetting Paul gives the false idea that women marched and men said, “Oh yeah, they should totally have that right.” We should never forget how hard it really was.

“This was a response to the furor kicked up over the glossy ‘princessification’ of Pixar’s Merida character, both in image and doll form. I drew this picture because I wanted to analyze how unnecessary it is to collapse a heroine into one specific mold, to give them all the same sparkly fashion, the same tiny figures, and the same homogenized plastic smile.

Gaia Liotta

Brilliant. I think for people to be incorrectly interpreting the article show its sucessful. It is so sad that as a global culture we put glossed images above real world heros.

Raul Romero

holocaust princess?! that is f***ed up. I’m sorry but some of these look like before and afters on “The Swan”

Thomas

Am I the only one who thought “Holocaust Princess” sounds like the title of a Horror/Gore anime?

Rotton fish

Humm. I would like to see a conservative princess. Sarah Palin would be a nice start.

Princess NoName

So wonderfully thought of and illustrated that the first heartfelt notion that arises, is gratitude.

cy

would have been better with out the propeganda for Hilary clinton.
There is no reason at all for her to be on this list.

I don’t know, I find this slightly disturbing and a little sexist. I mean, I’m not gonna make a huge deal out of it because on one side, these girls may be more intrigued about who these women were and what they did to change our history but something about over-glamorizing their appearance throws me off. I know what Disney is trying to do, but it just plays on the idea that making someone pretty makes them more important or worthy of recognition. In all these drawings, the women are frilly little feminine women, when that isn’t the case for many of them. On the other hand, it is Disney and they’ve done this since the company began. I’m 50/50 on this one.

BobbyBarker

Consider the author’s and artist’s point well-missed.

badfae

Right? I mean, honestly. The point is spelled out right in the article.

*facepalm*

Nufar Helseth

To the makers of the post,

While you were acknowledging Anne Frank as a rule model to other women, you also gave her the title “Holocaust princess”. This is an offensive title that is disrespectful to her memory and to the memory of the six million Jews that were murdered in the Holocaust. Please change this title.

Brittany

I’m surprised Emmy Noether did not make the list for her contributions in the fields of Mathematics and Physics.

Thatgirl

No matter your thoughts on the rest of it, can we at least agree that “Holocaust Princess” is kind of a weird name? *Shudder*

DisentAgain

His point is that it’s offensive (for those of you who still seem to not get it) – point well proved.This is thoroughly disturbing – still not as harmful and hideous as actual Disney, but point made.

badfae

I can hardly hear over the sound of the point whooshing past people’s heads!

Corinne

These are so cute! Disney should make a movie about these princesses!

Mark Thatcher

Interesting that we don’t see Princess Margaret Thatcher, isn’t it? Perhaps this artist isn’t keen on right wing female role models? Sad it true.

Vodeeodoe

This is just a huge generalization of course, but artists have a tendency to lean left and this wasn’t an assignment, it was an inspired project for him. An artist is not required to make everyone happy. If you want to pay him to render right wingers as princesses, you never know, he might take you up on it.

I love disney, and I really like this fun twist on amazing female figures. These are REAL women and I think there’s a lot of art in this post! The only thing that really bothers me is how they call Anne Frank a “Holocaust Princess.” wtf? Two words that should not be put together. Every other princess name deals with putting these ladies UP- showing that they stand for something. Anne’s title is inappropriate because it make it seem like her historical oppression is the only notable trait of this young, brilliant girl. I REALLLY wanted to like this post, but I feel very put off by the Anne Frank depiction. Nice try though.

girl

this is sexist….

badfae

Well, duh.

Actually, let me elaborate: The trope on which it’s based is sexist, and the point of this project is to point that out.

This is great, but could we not come up with a more uplifting title for Anne Frank than “Holocaust Princess”????

cryofpaine

It’s supposed to illustrate the ridiculousness of taking these great women and giving them the Disney treatment. If Merida had been a real person instead of a fictional character, she would easily stand next to any of these women as an important historical figure, standing up for herself against the established patriarchy and overthrowing the tradition that would have had her married off to some stranger, hundreds of years before concepts like women’s suffrage or equal rights. For Disney to take a character like that and turn her into a generic princess is nearly as ridiculous as calling Anne Frank a “Holocaust Princess”.

You find the girls should aspire to Hilrary Clinton? The one who let our ambassador and Marines die without sending help? The one that said their life doesn’t matter? Good job liberal artist

Joe Schmoe

Hey! You forgot Sarah Palin!! LOL…

Vodeeodoe

It’s interesting to see how many people missed the point of the article and just responded directly to the princess images, either loving or hating on them. Shows how Disney really ingrained their image of a princess into peoples’ minds.

badfae

Yup! It’s kind of disappointing, really.

jen

how can you put Hillary in the same category as those other ladies. same on you! she needs to be held accountable for Benghazi. she asked “who cares?” I do!

Richard Buck

98% of you missed the point entirely. Or maybe are the point.

Jenny Sue

Seriously, many of these women (not all) are heroes, they don’t need to rely on their looks.

badfae

…that’s the point of the project. Did you READ the article?

Jenny Sue

Yes I did and they failed dramatically by creating the idealized cartoons of these women. Did you look at the pictures?

Vodeeodoe

“I decided to take 10 real-life female role models, from diverse experiences and backgrounds, and filter them through the Disney princess assembly line…The statement I wanted to make was that it makes no sense to put these real-life women into one limited template, so why then are we doing it to our fictitious heroines?” Still sure you read the article?

Denise Ruiz

I think this concept is AWESOME, however, do we still have to objectify/over sexualize these amazing women? Is it necessary to whittle down Hillary Clinton’s waist or give Rosa Parks, Harriett Tubman and Jane Goodall low cut shirts and shapely legs? The reason all these woman are great is because they used their minds instead of their bodies. Im not saying you cant be sexy and smart, im just asking why draw them this way? I love it, just a little more tweaking and they can still be AWESOME!

badfae

You are simultaneously completely missing and vividly illustrating the artist’s point. You call the concept “awesome”, but don’t seem to know what that concept is. It’s very odd. Did you actually read the article that goes with the pictures? It’s explained pretty well in there.

OF COURSE it isn’t necessary to sexualize these women–or, it SHOULDN’T be. Too often, for women to gain admiration and attention in this country, they are expected to be attractive to straight men in addition to their other traits, or they are derided or not taken seriously. By drawing these women in homogenous Disney style, the artist is exposing how downright farcical it is to force female role models into the pretty pretty princess mold.

Yuck!

Really Hillary Clinton?? I’m sure you could have found another whiny ‘modern’ woman who has actually done something other than toot her own horn….Miley Cyrus perhaps…at least she isn’t an entitled elitist….

Ronnie

…Really? Ruth Bader Ginsburg and Hillary Clinton, on the same level as ROSA PARKS AND JANE GOODALL? No, just no.

cryofpaine

Sandra Day O’Connor and Madeleine Albright would have been better choices, since they were the first women to fill those roles.

BanrionTine

I want to marry this man.

holocaust princess

holocaust princess

Marijayne Renny

Well it was bittersweet to see my daughters eyes light up when she saw this. Sadly, she was immediately drawn to the sparkly dresses, but on the flip side it made her ask questions about these women and she was genuinely excited to know each and every one of their back stories.

Marc

I am waiting for the eventual poopstorm. I will utter words that have never been uttered before.” Ruth Bade Gingberg can get it”

TheRewd

Diverse? I guess there are no conservative type women in this artist’s world.

http://twitter.com/lolajl Lola Lee Beno

Eeeeeexxxxactly!

cryofpaine

They’re all in the kitchen.

Sorry, bad joke, but it was just too perfect a setup to ignore. Honestly, I can think of a few. Certainly Margaret Thatcher and Condoleezza Rice (if Hillary is on there, she should be too). Maybe Nancy Reagan. You could include Palin or Bachmann on that list, but you’d be laughed right off it. That’s about all I can think of.

Alantar

Three of those are pretty frightening. Between Ginsberg’s actions against the American people, Clinton’s assaults on children around the world, and Anthony’s war against alcohol which – with its continuation in the drug wars – has killed untold millions of innocents, perhaps they should be listed among Disney’s villainesses alongside Lady Tremaine, Maleficent, and Cruella de Vil.

Amy Allshouse

I’m glad he did this but it makes me want to cry. I still think it is harder to be a man in this world, evidenced by the prison population, but these drawings explain why it is hard to be a woman. We all know what a cartoon princess looks like and most of us can’t look anything like that but all women try.

cryofpaine

It’s hard for everyone, in different ways. But at the end of the day, it all comes down to the same thing. Society tries to tell us who we should be based on what you have between your legs, and it says that women (and by extension anything feminine) are inferior. So for a woman, it results in marginalization and oppression, and being valued more for her appearance than for her contribution, skills, or talents; but it also allows more freedom to be herself. If a woman has stereotypically masculine traits and interests, it’s ok. Being a tomboy isn’t a bad thing. For a man, we have more privilege and power, but less freedom to be ourselves. Implying that a man has feminine traits is an insult (sissy, “you throw like a girl”, etc.). We are forced to conform to a hyper-masculine ideal of strength and aggression, or risk ridicule, shame, and ostracization. Which is one possible reason why men are more likely to commit these hyper-violent crimes.

Alexandra

I love the work that David and Lori put into this, to help raise the awareness of truly strong women in history. It may not be everyone’s perfect idea of how to bring the awareness to girls, but it works. These two lovely people worked together to help in educating the girls of today and tomorrow.
Thank you, David and Lori.

I love all the comments from people who probably took a version of “Media and Society 201″ back in the 90s, and *finally* have the chance to leverage their professor’s best midterm exam notes against these soul-destroying, recycled Disney princess models.

All those parents who are just glad to have another way to get their kids interested in real world female heroes are worthy of nothing but your contempt and scorn. I hope you wise ones make sure to send screenshots of your pithiest comments to your old communication studies professors, maybe they’ll finally give you that retroactive A- and some tickets to a Le Tigre show at the student union.

This is a fight worth going to the mat for. TO THE MAT.

Robert Enders

I like this. I know that in reality, a princess is a woman with a hereditary title that did nothing to earn that. But hopefully this will stimulate intellectual curiosity in children.

Alden Smith

Wasn’t Susan B. Anthony pro life

Charis

Bravo Mr. Tumble! You’ve definitely made your point. Ridiculous as you’ve said. I’m so glad you visualized this for everyone thru your drawings. I’ve definitely bookmarked this to help others to reflect on what we are teaching our little girls in our society. Bravo!

Dipsey Doodle

Why must young people have only a “princess” as a hero? It’s a complete
backfire. Rather than “demonstrate how ridiculous it is to paint an
entire gender of heroes with one superficial brush” he has demonstrated
how ridiculous it is to paint an entire gender of heroes with one
superficial term: “princess.”

Agree! But for me Marie-Curie will always be the X-ray vision giant as portrayed in The Simpsons.

lady baruch

like all princesses, they cover up and are elegantly and gloriously dressed……not like ‘celebrities’ of this day……jus saying….

Lori Day

Satire is the purest form of truth. Also, Poe’s Law predicts that most people will not recognize satire when it hits very close to reality,

Zan

HOLOCAUST PRINCESS? Really? Why are you calling her that? Why not “gonzo journalist princess,” “timeless chronicler of the human spirit princess,” or at least “voice of Holocaust victims princess” or something? That kinda makes her sound like the holocaust was her doing, in the context of this cartoon (IMO). Neat otherwise.

♥ and ☭

So you have the Secretary of State of the administration who has been
mercilessly bombing the living shit out of Malala’s country with
drones, something that Malala has spoken out against to the president
himself, in the same picture. Along with with Susan B Anthony an avowed
racist who was in part “inspired” to fight for women’s suffrage because
she thought it unfair that black men could vote before white women,
right, in the same picture of Rosa Parks!

Yeah, fuck this picture

♥ and ☭

“Holocaust Princess”?!?!?! Like, you could have chosen literally anything else, “diary princess”
“inspirational princess” “Jewish princess” (though that one has
different meanings) but no. Somehow they looked at “holocaust process”
and thought, “yeah, that’s something little girls want to be, the
princess of the fucking holocaust!”

♥ and ☭

Also for the record, art is not about “intent”. I don’t give a shit of what the artist “intended” the message to be. Art doesn’t belong to the artist. Its how its perceived is what matters

I have raised two very strong daughters to be a Chemical Engineer and a CPA I myself am an economist. They have owned Barbies, Disney princesses and costumes. There is no reason you cant be smart, strong and love some sparkle.

Such a wonderful thought and very rich conversation about it. I appreciate that David notices that girls need strong women to look up to who are famous for doing important things with their lives, like standing up to “the man” and such. At the same time, I notice that there is an underrepresentation of women of color, women of size, openly trans/lesbian/bi women, and women who are visibly from a lower socioeconomic class. I’d love to hear the artist’s thoughts on this. So often our myriad social identities blind us to our bias, and I respectfully think that David’s white male bias is present here. That said, with such an open-minded creator as David, who amended his Anne Frank princess, I’d imagine he has a proactive response to this! Just calling you in to the feminism fight, dude!

I think calling Anne Frank “Holocaust Princess” is very inappropriate. I feel she should instead be the Princess of Remembrance. Anne Frank should not be the princess of the event that killed her and countless other innocent people. Today Anne Frank is a symbol of a normal girl snatched from her normal life and put into a world of death and fear. There should never be any princess of the Holocaust

CatholicMom, THAT was the point, the sexualization of girls’ merchandise, and how ridiculous these powerful, strong women look with tiny waists and cleavage. Read the article.

Cyntax

Not true, some boys prefer princesses, some girls prefer legos. Just because your kids like certain things doesn’t mean you can realistically generalize based on your subjective experience with your children.

Michael

I feel like the REAL problem with the Disney princess theme is not so much the shininess or color, but the overt sexualization of the characters. I mean, just compare any one of the above drawings to the real life heroine and you see that the artist has first plunged her neckline, then given her large breasts and a tiny waist. (The exceptions are Anne Frank and Malala, presumably because they are young girls and not women.) So, what this tells our daughters, once again, is that to be interesting and of worth, they must be beautiful and desirable. Yes, maybe this project can spark an interest in a real-life figure, but why the endless crush of objectification? We CAN stop this. But it must start with artists like this whose intentions are good, but not careful. I ask you this…would Disney artists treat male figures in the same way? Would Ghandi’s telling gaunt frame be replaced with rippling muscles?

But there is a reason behind little girls choosing glitter and pretty faces over substance! Perhaps what we need to change is what appeals to young girls in the first place. To do this, we should help them understand what qualities are important about these inspiring role models, and that isn’t their beautiful faces. Rather, it’s what they stood for!

Alyssa

I agree with you one hundred percent. However, these girls are already programmed to want these princesses. We can’t sit here and say “this is wrong” and have no solution to changing WHY these girls want these princess images. I think for the time being it is useful to work within the frame work we have, if that means showing our little girls these princesses, then so be it. They need to see these women, and if this is the way to reach them currently, don’t throw it out.

Why is this even an argument? They are drawn to be princesses and are amazing women being recognized. Who the heck cares if they have sparkles? Everyone is always so quick to be negative. My daughter loves these photos and wants to learn more about the women. Since when is a cartoon supposed to be extremely realistic anyway? Great drawings.

This is not only terrible art but a very disrespectful take on these women. This second is probably not intentional but a woman and certainly not these woman need to either be a princess or thinned and whiten or beautified to be the great women they were and are. I think it’s just a condescending compilation and probably who made this just did it out of doing another disney series to get popular more than thinking trough what the message was. But the ones seeing this and applauding it is the reason why we need to re check our values and hold ourselves to a higher standard than white and pretty is good, instead of skillfull, goodwilled and hardworking. Society, you’re shit today

I appreciate your changing the name of the Anne Frank’s image. I have one more needed note for you. Malala should culturally have her hair covered to be apropriately dressed according to her own culture and beliefs. Please remove her side head braid! Thank you.

A.B.

I do appreciate your inviting us to considering afresh the ‘Disney-fication’ of our image of wonen.

Let me see: If a white man drew “cartoons” of great Civil Rights activists in poses based on stereotypes: dirty, oversexed, eating fried chicken, tap dancing, etc we’d be outraged and cut him off from progressive ideology formation, right? So, how is it ok to do this with women?

Exposure to art or not, if you fight the “princess mold”, you’ll be fighting generations of training of women everywhere. I’m all for the idea of “princessifying” the women who moved and shook the world. It opens the door to getting the factual history of these trailblazing women. Young children aren’t ready for the hard cold truth that many of these women had to face, Jane Goodall was murdered, Rosa Parks was beaten. Not a pretty “picture”, I know, but one we need to learn from if we are to make the future better.

Just looking at the composite figure, Hillary Clinton was the only one I recognized, although I have to admit that Malala is a very good likeness. I mistook Tubman and Steinham for Michelle Obama and Jane Fonda.

One problem is that the artist tends to give them all the same prominent cheekbones, even when they have completely different skull types. This is especially bad on Anne Frank, whose cartoon has a much too angular head to be recognizable. The Susan B. Anthony and Jane Goodall cartoons have similar problems.

On the ethical issue, anything that can get little girls interested in people like this is a plus in my book.

About that whole “girls only like it because they have been over exposed to Disney crap” … Even though conditioning might play an important role I think these things speak to girls independent from their upbringing (as sexist as that may sound – and there’s nothing wrong with that). I know people who brought up their boys and girls completely gender-neutral (whatever that means) and as soon as they turned six toilet paper rolls became guns for the boys and the girls refused to wear pants…

This is a creative way to get girls interested in female rolemodels without being preachy and brainwashing them … I just feel Anne Frank as “the Holocaust princess” … was a bad choice of words XD